Electric car-lighting system



(No Model.)

J. C. HENRY. ELECTRIC CAR LIGHTING SYSTEM.

No. 508,616. Patented Nov. 14,1893.

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-W 0% M Q I M a l v m5 NATIONAL UTHDGRAFMNG ca u UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE.

JOHN C. HENRY, OF IVESTFIELD,NEWV JERSEY.

ELECTRIC CAR-LIGHTING SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 508,616, dated November 14, 1893.

Application filed April 3, 1893.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN C. HENRY, a citizen of the United States, residing at WVestfield, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Electric Regulators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to regulators and more particularly to such as are used in regulating the brilliancy of electric incandescent lamps; and has for its object to provideasimple and economical regulator for such lamps when supplied from railway mains orsimilar sources of current subject to violent fluctuations. In ordinary practice such fluctuations, as when a car starts or two or more cars are simultaneously thrown out of circuit, give rise to very considerable variations in the brilliancy of the lamps, seriously affecting their life. To prevent these variations is the object of my invention.

To this end I employ a regulating apparatus consisting of a series motor in shunt across the railway mains driving a bevel-gear in one direction and a clock independently driving a second bevel-gear in the opposite direction, the two gears being connected by other bevelwheels, as in the Well known compensation gear used upontricycles and similar machines; these gears are mounted in a worm, connected to a worm-gear, which moves an arm over an adjustable resistance in circuit with the lamps to be governed, the method of operation being more particularly described hereinafter.

In the drawings hereunto annexed and hereby made part of the specification which show one method of embodying my invention, Figure 1 is an elevation of such an arrangement as I have described, a portion of the worm being broken away to show the construction clearly, and the circuits and lamps being shown diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is a side elevation partly in section taken on the line 2, 2 of Fig. 1.

hi is a series motor having its field-magnet coil F and armature A in shunt across the mains 0; I); such a motor responds to the changes of current in the line, anincrease of pressure driving it faster and a decrease permitting it to run slower. To its armatureshaft S is fixed a bevel gear F, meshing with the bevel-pinions G, G. Coaxial with this Serial No. 468,759. (No model.)

shaft, but not connected to it, is the shaft E of a clock, to which is also secured a bevelgear E of the same pitch and number of teeth as the'beVel-gear F driven by the motor. This gear also engages the bevel-pinions G and G. The clock and the motor run in opposite directions, and normally at the same speed. The bevel pinions G and G are stepped in internal bearings on the worm I, and are preserved in place by the internal bearing for the shafts F and E, shown more plainly in Fig. 2 and marked P. External bearings, not shown in the drawings, are also provided to preserve the alignment of the two shafts.

D is a rheostat having an arm K mounted upon a shaft 0 by a friction contact through a sleeve-bearing N. The shaft 0 carries a worm gear J engaging with the worm I. The rheostat D is in circuit with the lamps O wh ch it is intended to control and is also in series with the motor. The lamps are in a group designed to consume the minimum electromotive force supplied by the railway mains; as represented, there are ten lamps each supposed to consume fifty volts.

T T are stops on the face of the rheostat, limiting the motion of the contact-arm K, and thereby limiting the resistance withdrawn or inserted to a predetermlned amount.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the clock and the motor run at the same speed, moving in opposite directions, the pinions and gears E, F, G, G revolve together without imparting motion to the worm I; should the motor run faster than the clock a planetary motion is imparted to the worm, which drives the worm-gear and shifts the arm K, thus interposing resistance and shutting off a portion of the current from the lamps. Should the pressure diminish and the motor run slower than the clock, this operation is reversed and resistance is withdrawn, increasing current in the lamps. The speed of the motor thus fluctuates with the variations of potential in the mains; and, as will be readily seen from Fig. 1, it being in circuit with the rheostat, as are the lamps, the brilliancy of the lamps and the speed of the motor are thus reciprocal functions of the current. Thus when the motor accelerrates it inserts resistance, cutting down or preventing an increase of brilliaucy in the lamps; when the clock runs faster than the motor, it withdraws resistance both from the lamp-circuit, maintaining the lights, and from the DIOtOP'CII'CUIlE, thus speeding up the motor to the rate of the clock. In practice these motions are small and rapid, so that the lam ps are maintained at nearly an even brilliancy, and are as described afliected inversely the current driving the motor varies.

WVhat I claim, and wish to protect by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In combination, a series-wound motor, an adjustable resistance in series therewith, a lamp or lamps controlled by the resistance, and means, substantially as described, adapted to increase the resistance when the motor exceeds a predetermined speed and diminish the resistance when the motor falls below such predetermined speed.

2. In combination a motor, a clock running in opposite direction thereto, an adjustable resistance and lamps controlled thereby, and gearing operated by the motor and the clock increasing or diminishing the resistance inversely as the current driving the motor varies.

3. In combination, a series-wound motor, an adjustable resistance in series therewith and controlling a lamp or lamps a clock running oppositely to the motor, a planetary gear connected to the motor and the clock and adapted to adjust the resistance inversely as the current driving the motor varies.

4. In combination, a series-wound motor, a rheostat in series therewith and controlling a lamp or lamps, a clock running oppositely to the motor, and bevel-gearing connecting the clock and stepped in a worm drivinga wormgear which moves the rheostat-arm; whereby the worm remains stationary when the motor and clock run at the same speed and revolves when their speeds dilfer.

5. In combination, a series-wound motor driving a bevel gear, as F, a rheostat, as D, in series therewith and controlling a lamp or lamps, as O, a clock running oppositely to the motor and driving a bevel gear, as E, connected to gears, as G G, stepped in a worm, as 1, moving a worm gear, as J, mounted upon a shaft, as O, and movinga rheostat arm, as K, the arm having frictional hearing by the sleeve N on such shaft, and its motion being limited by the stops '1 T, substantially as herein set out and described; whereby the lamps C are maintained at an even brilliancy.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 31stday of March. 1893.

JOHN C. HENRY.

Witnesses:

L. M. WHITAKER, HIRAM L. FINK. 

